Laboratory evaluation of a simple and rapid latex agglutination assay for the serodiagnosis of typhoid fever

A latex agglutination assay for the serodiagnosis of typhoid fever was evaluated on samples collected from patients with clinical suspicion of typhoid fever in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, where the disease is endemic. The latex assay is very easy to use, gives a rapid result and may be used as a point-of-care diagnostic test. For acute phase samples collected on average 6 days after the onset of illness, the sensitivity is 42.5% for culture-confirmed patients with typhoid fever and the specificity is 96.9%. The sensitivity improved with the duration of illness from 30.8% for samples collected during the first 4-5 days of illness to 45.5% for samples collected between days 7 and 9, and to 84.6% for the samples collected more than 9 days after the onset of illness. Testing of follow-up samples may further improve sensitivity by demonstrating seroconversion.